Repotting a root over rock maple

[Lisan]

------- I acquired this root over rock maple in the early Spring of 2019. I think it is one of yours, shibui. It has particularly nice foliage.

Maple r over r. leaves. 2022 jpg.jpg

It was given to me in a nursery pot just wide enough to accommodate the rocks. I decided to repot it straight away, but the only pot I had of approximately the right size was a fibreglass one that I had made a long time ago and for which I had never found a suitable tree.

[Lisan]

For the repotting I was lucky in two ways: firstly, I had a pot which was a definite improvement on the old one, and even more importantly I had a good friend who did the whole repotting job. The latter took a lot of effort, as the roots were adhering strongly to the sandy coating of the fibreglass.

Maple repot Paul a. 220722.jpg

Finally the tree was out, looking very healthy. The roots were disentangled and shortened by only about 20%, as the tree was to be planted higher and the rootball needed to be taller.
Here is the end result.

Maple r over r.aa.220722.jpg

And seen from above:

Maple r over r. from above.a..220722.jpg

Sorry, I just can't get the photos to appear in the right order.
Anyway, it is obvious that I have some pruning still to do. As to the visible roots around the rocks, these are rather disappointing and I don't know what to do about that. I also need to get better photos.

Lisa

[shibui]

Looking good Lisa. Unfortunately Japanese maple roots are not as vigorous as trident maple so they are rarely as good for ROR as the trident maples.
Yours is still pretty good with roots holding close to the rock so I would just keep working on developing a good canopy.

[Lisan]

Thanks, Neil, that's a comfort. I'll get back after I've pruned it.

Lisa

Detail of the repotted maple.

Maple r over r repot detail.240722.jpg

[RuthMcL]

Nestles beautifully in between the rocks.